Examining intersections of race and neighborhood income in low birth weight disparities among teen mothers

Background: Few studies examined socioeconomic contributors to racial disparities in low birth weight outcomes between African-American and White teen mothers. This cross-sectional study therefore examined the intersections of neighborhood income and race in explaining these disparities in low birth weight outcomes across a statewide sample of teen mothers.

Methods: Using data from the NC State Center of Health Statistics for 2010-2011, cases for 16,472 teens were geocoded by street address and linked to census-tract information from the 2010 US Census. Multilevel models were used to identify significant associations between neighborhood income (defined by census-tract median household income) and racial differences in low birth weight outcomes across census tracts.

Results: Significant racial differences were identified in which African-American teens had greater odds of low birth weight outcomes than white teens (OR=1.88, p<.001). Teens in lower income environments also had significantly greater odds of low birth weight in comparison to teens living in areas of higher income (OR=1.41, p<.001). However, racial disparities in low birth weight remained significant across all income levels, and the greatest disparities were found between African-American teens and White teens living in higher income areas (p<.01).

Conclusions: These findings indicate the need to increase focus on prenatal education and support for African-American teen mothers across all income levels in order to improve birth outcomes and reduce racial disparities. Implications for future investigations in low birth weight on community-based program planning will be discussed.